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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a ring
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. band — a music group
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. charge — a price
  12. pit — in a race
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pit — a hole
  16. charge — in control
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — a stick

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com